Nations of Experience

Examining how nationalism has implications for both the individual and the collective

Image: Picture of flags from various countries (Getty Images); Shaking hands image: (Lambert, n.d.)

One binary that Boris Pahor’s works examine is the theme of the individual vs. the collective. Individualism refers to “favoring freedom of action for individuals over collective or state control” while collectivism refers to “the practice or principle of giving a group priority over each individual in it” (“Collectivism…”, “Individualism…”). Pahor’s work as a whole can be inspected under this dichotomy. Although his works are autobiographical and he acknowledges that his individual experience is not representative of all prisoners in concentration camps, his stories give society a firsthand account of the types of abuses that prisoners in concentration camps suffered and a voice to those who cannot speak about their experience.

In the short story “The Butterfly and the Coat Rack,” Pahor tells the story of a Slovenian schoolgirl, Julka, in an Italianized Trieste (Pahor, 2008, pp. 4-6). Whilst playing with her friends, she calls after her friend in Slovenian and is subsequently berated by her teacher, violently punishes for speaking her native language, impassionedly stating that Slovenian is an “ugly language;” the teacher grabs her by the ear, pushes her up against the wall, and ultimately hangs her on the iron hooks of the coat rack (Pahor, 2008, p. 5). In the meantime, the teacher instructs the rest of the class to write “I only have to speak Italian,” forcing the collective of the class to stand against Julka, as is representative of the nationalism in Italy at the time (Pahor, 2008, p. 5). This nationalism forced a collective mindset on those who lived in Italy and criminalized the practicing of any one individual culture (Pahor, 2008, p.1). Further, it was oppressive to individuals such as Julka, as she was forced to assume an Italianized identity after only knowing a Slovenian identity (Pahor, 2008, pp. 4-6). Although the students have no power to challenge the teacher, they do sympathize with Julka, as Pahor observes, “as if from them, from all of those eyes, infantile palms similar to dove's wings should spring at any moment to lift her body and relieve her pain” (Pahor, 2008, p.6). In this way, Pahor appreciates the collective when it supports causes and principals that are deemed morally just and fair. Pahor also shines a positive light on collectivism when it is done for the greater good in the beginning of the story when Julka’s friend Danilo defends her after another one of the children, Marko, teases her for her swimming abilities (Pahor, 2008, p.4). If Danilo had acted in an individualistic manner, he would have not intervened in the situation, since Marko teasing Julka had no direct effect on Danilo.

Pahor also examines the idea of the individual and the collective in his novel Necropolis. On the first page of the novel, in response to the tourists visiting Natzweiler-Struthof, Pahor writes “some vague resistance is forming in me – resistance to the fact that this mountainous region, such an integral part of our inner world, should be laid bare, made accessible”, indicating a wariness about the tourists, as they cannot truly understand the reality of a prisoner in a concentration camp (Pahor, 1995, p.1). Thus, he is emphasizing the individual experience. However, he then says that the tourists are “sincere in their wish to experience just a hint of the inconceivable fate of their lost brothers” and that although the tourists will never fully understand what the prisoners at the concentration camp went through, he recognizes that they want to educate themselves so that such atrocities never occur again (Pahor, 1995, p.2). As such, he is again appreciating the collective when its intentions are good.

In another part of the novel, Pahor recounts his encounter with an Italian named Gabriele at Natzweiler and notes that Gabriele’s mannerisms struck him as “qualities of our countrymen…so unique that even far from home they evoke the street corner by your house, the old signboard over the neighborhood dairy” (Pahor, 1995, p.21). At this point, Pahor describes a sense of collectivity and focuses on the similarities that make them Triestine, which seems like a relief to him in such a cruel place and amid such an unfathomable reality. However, Pahor also examines the irony of Gabriele vying for democracy and coexistence in Italy when he states that “a member of the Italian elite, should address me in human terms for the first time here” and questions “[w]ould an Italian from Trieste call you brother if he too was not being threatened with destruction?” (Pahor, 1995, pp.22-23). Again, Pahor brings attention to how harmful collectivism can be when it ostracizes the cultures of others and does not allow for the individual to express themselves. The themes of individualism and collectivism, and the tensions surrounding them are palpable in today’s world. As evidenced by Pahor’s narrative accounts of the discrimination he endured in his adolescence, and his experience in the concentration camps of twentieth century Europe, Pahor believes that people have a responsibility to fight for equity and what is morally just.

This discussion of remembrance of Holocaust experiences relates to International Holocaust Remembrance Day (IHRD), which was designated for January 27 by the UN General Assembly in November 2005, with the first remembrance day taking place in 2006 (International Holocaust Remembrance Day, n.d.). Clearly, the UN designated an International Holocaust Remembrance Day to honor the victims and survivors of the Holocaust as well as to educate future generations about its horrors to ensure that nothing like that ever happens again. Therefore, it is a force of collectivism that is positive because its goals are morally just.

As Claudia and I will expand on in the podcast, especially within the last year, cultural ideals of individualism and collectivism have been put on display. The COVID-19 pandemic pushed the world to reevaluate to what extent individualism and collectivism work and act upon each other, when one ends and the other begins, and to ponder whether these concepts are beneficial to society, especially here in the United States. Various facets of the pandemic, from simple mask-wearing to the debate over public events being held, to the choice of whether to get a vaccine were impacted by the ideals of individualism and collectivism. However, this binary is also present in other areas of life besides COVID-19. This debate of individualism vs. collectivism is related to the other binaries that will be explored in the podcast, the universalism vs. particularism debate, as ideology and experiences influence how people acknowledge differences and whether they choose to practice individualism or collectivism.